Shout outs:
Bayj - Are you sure that is what will happen in this coming chapter? :P We don't know what is going on with Sonic and the others while that is happening. But yeah, I can also see that song fitting in for this story. ^^;
GhostofTime - She's trying her best, but don't forget the event in "Just Give In, Never Speak Again." But let's see how Sonic and the others are doing. ;)
Chapter 17: Interlude: What's in the Mist?
The moment Saura got taken away by the strange red rope, Infinite knew he needs to go after her. Something isn't right! He didn't cause this part of the Phantom Ruby. What he wants is to destroy the resistance, except Saura, by making the sun crash down on them. But then, he heard Saura's shout. He's never heard Saura so scared before. He sees the wolf start talking to Tails. The masked jackal tries to hear what Saura is saying, but both Sonics are fighting him.
"Saura," Infinite hears Tails shout. While blocking both hedgehogs, the masked jackal looks to see what the fox and wolf are doing, but he soon sees the wolf being dragged away by a strange red rope. Looking at the source, he sees a strange red mist surrounding the other tower. This is definitely something he didn't plan! Infinite suddenly sees a figure covered in the red mist. He can't tell what it is, but he does see what it has, a strange red rope! "Sonic, help," he hears the fox shout out! Suddenly, he was kicked away and falls to the ground. The jackal gets up to glare at the hedgehogs, but he discovers Tails and both Sonics were trying to help Saura, who is still being dragged by the red rope. By the time he gets up, the rope somehow tugs the wolf harder to force the fox and both hedgehogs to let go as it goes back to the other tower with the wolf.
Luckily, Saura landed on the tower roof. Infinite makes a quiet sigh of relief. There is a chance the wolf can be okay. He hears the older Sonic and Tails call out to Saura the moment the wolf rose to her feet with the Lightning Wispon in her hand. The masked jackal can see Saura looking confused as she tries to walk closer. It's like she couldn't hear them! The mist around the wolf started glitching a bit that caused her to stop and wipe her eyes. Unconsciously, Infinite starts to move a bit towards the wolf. Something in him is telling the jackal something bad is about to happen and he doesn't want Saura involved with it. But then, he gets hit by the younger Sonic's spin attack. Infinite groans a bit as he glares at the younger Sonic. The older Sonic glares back at him. "I don't know what your planning Infinite, but my friends and I will do everything we can to stop you and your Phantom Ruby illusions," the older blue hedgehog says with determination. Infinite humphs as he starts throwing red spheres from the Phantom Ruby at both Sonics.
Tails backs away as he watches the hedgehogs and masked jackal fighting. He hopes his two friends can prevent any more illusion effects by Infinite. Nobody can take another virtual reality that could possibly get rid of them. Speaking of virtual reality, he wonders what Infinite plans to do with Saura at the other tower. He looks back at the other tower and noticed the wolf's back is facing towards him and the others while pointing her wispon at something… No, she's pointing it at someone! There is someone there covered in the red mist and has hazel eyes! Who is he? The figure soon had its hazel eyes look at his direction. Tails watches suspiciously at the figure as it looked at him and possibly both Sonics and Infinite. The hazel eyes then look back to Saura. He kept his eyes on the two to see what's going on. Before he knows it, the figure had that same red rope like weapon, used to drag Saura, and uses it to attack the wolf. The fox was surprised to see the figure attack Saura. The wolf needs help! Tails looks to both Sonics. "Sonic, I'm going to go help Saura," he says to both hedgehogs.
Both Sonics look back to Tails with a smile. "Alright! Be careful Tails," the older Sonic says as the younger Sonic gives a thumbs up. The older hedgehog suddenly sees Infinite about to fly off to the direction of the tower covered in red mist. He uses his homing attack at the masked jackal and pins him down as he looks back to Tails. "Go now," he says to the fox! Tails nods as he starts to fly to the misty covered tower.
Infinite growls madly at the older Sonic as he kicks the hedgehog off him. By the time he gets up, the masked jackal sees the younger Sonic charging at him with a spin attack. Quickly, he blocks the younger hedgehog's attack. If he was just against one Sonic, he has a chance in defeating him. But, it seems facing two of them is difficult. Infinite needs to find a way to defeat both Sonics, so he can release another reality of destruction for the resistance as he hides Saura to a safe place where she won't be harmed by it. For now, he'll have to fight the blue savior and his other dimension self.
Once he is completely in the air, Tails started to fly to the tower covered in red mist. He noticed Saura had managed to knock down the figure into the mist. He smiles a bit as he continues to fly towards the misty tower. "Saura," he tries to call out to the wolf! The fox watches her turn back to look at him. When his and her eyes made contact, Tails see Saura starting to panic.
"No Tails, get back," Saura shouts to Tails! Tails stops heading to the misty tower with a surprised and confused expression. That is strange. Why would Saura want him to go back? He watches the wolf as she did the same for him. Tails suddenly noticed something in Saura's eyes. They appear to be glowing red a bit! Did the red mist do that to her? He should avoid touching the mist.
Saura's eyes soon shrunk back a bit. The wolf was then attacked by the red rope like weapon. No, Tails knows what that is, a whip! "Saura," he calls out to the wolf! He starts flying to Saura again! He came close to the wolf when she stood up. The fox continues to fly above the red mist, so he wouldn't touch it. "Are you okay Saura?" he asks with worry.
Tails watches Saura looking confused. Did the wolf even hear him? The fox sees her about to speak but stops as fear appeared in her eyes. What's wrong with Saura? Why is she too afraid to speak? Tails then sees someone walking towards Saura. He notices it's the figure, still covered in the red mist. The figure had its hand on Saura's shoulder which made more fear be known in her eyes. The figure may be covered in red mist, but those hazel eyes are still there! Something about those eyes makes the fox feel frightened a bit. Tails then sees Saura kick the figure away which caused it to fall back in to the red mist. "Tails, get out of here, please! That wolf's name is Nevil! I-I've dealt with him for a long time an-and he's done more terrible things than Infinite has done! He's m-my uncle," she says in shame. The fox looked confused at what Saura said. That figure was a wolf and her uncle? How can she tell? The red mist started to slowly rise along with Saura covering her mouth for what she saw below her. He tries to see what it is, but the wolf blocks him. "No Tails, don't look," Saura shouts with a serious look!
Tails flinches a bit as he looks to Saura. "Wh-why? What's in this mist Saura?" he tries to ask. The wolf apparently didn't hear the fox for she flinches in fear as she turns around. He looks as well and sees the figure rising back up as it grips on to the whip. The mist was soon covering both the figure and Saura. "Saura," he tries to call out to the wolf! He needs to get Saura out of that mist, even if it means he needs to go in it! Nodding to himself, Tails flies down into the mist and has a hold on the wolf.
*WARNING STARTS HERE!*
"Tails, noooo," the fox hears Saura shout! Tails looks down to the wolf in confusion. But then, he sees something on the ground. Looking down to see what it is,the fox became stunned. They're appear to be dead mobians and some are covered in blood and missing something from them! Unconsciously, Tails lets go of Saura and looks around in fear. Who could've done this? Was all this Infinite's doing? No, it can't be; he's back at the other tower fighting both Sonics. That way, he can get Saura out of this misty area. But to see this, it gave Tails a fright.
Tails then sees pixel-like parts in his vision a bit as he wipes his eyes. Once that's done, he notices an older brown wolf looking a little bit like Saura except for his eyes, fur, and design. "It seems your friend has seen a little bit too much," the male wolf says. Tails became confused with the brown wolf's words. "Seen a little too much." What does he mean by that? The fox then remembers Saura's warnings as he looks around. Finally putting the pieces together, Tails looks to the male wolf with fear. Was all of this done by him?! Saura is right; this is far worse than what Infinite had done!
Tails was soon attacked by a red rope like weapon, the whip! The fox shouts as he was being flown away due to how hard the attack was. "TAILS," he hears Saura shout out!
*WARNING ENDS HERE!*
Both Sonics continue to fight Infinite. They would often jump around while fighting, but none of them came near the tower covered in red mist. The blue hedgehogs would make sure Infinite wouldn't get near there to attack their friends. Both Sonics are back at the tower with the masked jackal as they glare at each other. "You foolish hedgehogs, nothing and no one can defeat me," Infinite says in determination.
"Wrong! The things that can't be defeated are heart, soul, and the bonds of friendship. Something you and your counterfeit cronies lack," the older Sonic says. The younger Sonic nods in agreement as he continues to glare at Infinite. "Infinite we'll show you how sad and lonely you really are," the older hedgehog added.
Infinite humphs as he glares at the two blue hedgehogs. He's not lonely at all! He has the Phantom Ruby; it will help him rule this world and give him everything he wants! He doesn't need friendship. He needs-
"L-let me help you find that other way…"
Infinite froze a bit when he hears Saura's voice in his head. What's going on? Why is he hearing her? Without thinking, he looks back to the tower covered in red mist. Now that he sees it, the masked jackal noticed the mist had rose up and now he can't see Saura nor Tails. There is something going on here! He knows this isn't the cause of his Phantom Ruby. Is this Eggman's doing and if so, why? Infinite suddenly sees both Sonics charging after him. With the Phantom Ruby, he dodges them both as he glares. The first thing he should do is get rid of both Sonics. And then, he'll go after Saura.
"TAILS," both Sonics and Infinite hear a shout! That was Saura who shouted! The masked jackal and blue hedgehogs then see someone heading towards them! Recognizing the fur and two tails, both Sonics see it's Tails! The fox crash lands on to the roof floor as he groans in pain while shivering.
"Tails," Sonic says in shock and worry as he gets to the fox! When he got to his friend, the older blue hedgehog lifts Tails up as the younger hedgehog watches with worry as well. The two hedgehogs notice a long lash mark on the fox, but it slowly disappears like it's an illusion. The worry started to increase as they hear Tails deep breathing a bit while his eyes are glowing red, but the glowing starts to disappear until the eyes are normal again. "Tails, are you okay?" the older hedgehog asks.
Tails, once he landed, took in everything he saw at the misty tower. How could that brown wolf do such a terrible thing? Doesn't he know he is hurting so many lives? If he couldn't handle Infinite alone, what would happen if Sonic runs into that brown wolf? The fox feels someone lift him up. Perhaps it's that same brown wolf from before. Turning around quickly, Tails sees both Sonics staring at him with worry. Tails takes several more breaths as he stares at the two Sonics to make sure it's really them. Once it's confirmed, tears started to appear in the fox's eyes as he hugs the older Sonic tightly while shivering. "S-Sonic," he says as he starts crying a bit.
The older Sonic feels Tails shivering. He hugs the fox as he tries to help him calm down. "Tails, what happened?" he asks his closest friend. While both hedgehogs were distracted by Tails, Infinite took his time to float in the air as he watches the group. With both Sonics' guards down, he can finish them once and for all and take out the rest of the resistance. All it takes is one final blast!
Infinite stops charging his attack the moment Tails points to the misty tower. "Th-There is s-someone in there wh-who has been h-hurting others," he replies to the older Sonic with a shaky voice. The fox looks to the misty tower as he sees it getting thicker to a fog. Tails suddenly sees Saura who is staring at the group with guilt. Remembering what he saw and where Saura is at, he let's go of Sonic with a look of panic. "Sonic, Saura is still in there with that… that…" he says but stops himself as he tries to find the best word to describe that brown wolf he saw.
Infinite's eyes shrunk back at the thought of Saura with something, or someone, that could be harming her the same way it harmed Tails. Without thinking, the masked jackal flies straight into the red mist. This unfortunately caught both Sonics and Tails's attention! The older Sonic tries to catch Infinite's attention, but it seems his call fell deaf to the jackal. The older hedgehog looks to the younger hedgehog. "You stay here and keep an eye on Tails. I'm going to go after Infinite and save Saura," he says with a serious expression. When the younger Sonic nods, the older Sonic charges through as he jumps through several rails to get to the misty tower faster.
Tails noticed the older Sonic heading straight for the misty tower. Remembering Saura's warnings, he watches the older hedgehog. He knows he can't stop his best friend, but what the fox saw could be something Sonic may not handle if that same stuff came close to breaking him. "B-be careful Sonic," he mumbles.
Author's note:
TADA! It is another interlude! There will be no more interludes after this, I promise. For the chapter, I mostly just want to show what's been going on while Saura is fighting off the illusions, and of course her rescue is on its way. But the question is: How will Sonic and Infinite handle what they will see soon? We'll know in the next two chapters. :P
Thanks for reading and please review!